Business Chicks downsizes operations, and everything women are talking about today.

Australian entrepreneur Emma Isaacs has announced that Business Chicks has made the "difficult decision" to downsize operations. 

"When circumstances change, it's just not possible to keep doing things the way they've always been done - as much as we may like this to be the case," the CEO of the Australian female-business network wrote in a statement posted to Instagram.

"In my case, Business Chicks has made the difficult decision to downsize operations and rebuild in a way that better suits this new world we all find ourselves in," she continued.

"I still feel passionately about the business that I've built and grown for over 17 years now - connecting and supporting women to be their best.

"However, in order to future proof Business Chicks, I had to make the difficult decision to reduce the number of staff and change the way we do things."

You can read the full statement below.

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Kevin Spacey has defeated a sexual abuse claim against him after jurors in Manhattan civil trial found his accuser didn't prove his claim that the Oscar winner made an unwanted sexual advance on him when he was 14.

The verdict came after a three-week trial in Manhattan federal court.

BREAKING: A jury concluded that Kevin Spacey didn’t molest fellow actor Anthony Rapp, concluding a trial that was an outgrowth of the #MeToo movement.

Rapp had claimed that he was psychologically damaged after Spacey made a sexual advance on him in 1986. https://t.co/FB5Hag2RHi

— The Associated Press (@AP) October 20, 2022

Rapp, now 50, testified that Spacey climbed on top of him on a bed and pressed his groin into Rapp's hip until he was able to wriggle free. Spacey denied the allegation on the stand and said he had never been alone with Rapp.

During closing arguments, Rapp's lawyer urged jurors to discredit Spacey's recollection of the events.

"It's inconsistent. It's not worthy of your belief," the lawyer, Richard Steigman, said, citing what he claimed were gaps in Spacey's memory and changes in his recollection. 

Spacey's lawyer, Jennifer Keller, argued during her closing arguments that Rapp's story was a fabrication. She advanced several theories for why Rapp might have lied, including a desire for attention or jealousy of Spacey's acting success.

Spacey won Oscars for performances in American Beauty and The Usual Suspects, but his career largely ended after more than 20 men accused him of sexual misconduct.

Spacey faces a criminal trial in London next year after pleading not guilty to five sex offence charges over alleged assaults between 2005 and 2013. 

-With AAP.

Liz Truss has resigned as British prime minister, after just six weeks.

Speaking outside the door of her Number 10 Downing Street office on Thursday, Truss accepted that she had lost the faith of her party and said she would step down next week, becoming the shortest-serving prime minister in British history.

In full: Prime Minister @TrussLiz’s resignation statement. pic.twitter.com/UXTWBRyfLr

— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) October 20, 2022

Truss, who had said on Wednesday she was a "fighter and not a quitter", told the mass of journalists gathered in Downing Street that she realised she could no longer deliver on the promises that won her the Conservative leadership.

"I have therefore spoken to His Majesty the King to notify him that I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party," said Truss, who was supported only by her husband with her aides and loyal ministers noticeably absent.

Truss had a disaster six weeks in the top job. She was forced to sack her finance minister and closest political ally, Kwasi Kwarteng, and abandon almost all her economic programme after their plans for vast unfunded tax cuts crashed the pound and British bonds. 

Her successor will be elected within the next week.

Truss’s exit from No 10 triggers Tory leadership race https://t.co/kPJyIgzV5E

— The Guardian (@guardian) October 20, 2022

Party members and Conservative lawmakers are expected to be given a say in the vote. A poll earlier this week showed that most members wanted Johnson - who was ousted from Downing Street in July - to return.

Britain is not scheduled to hold a national election for another two years.

-With AAP.

Rain and isolated thunderstorms could deliver up to 30 millimetres of rain for already drenched parts of northern Victoria.

The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting the downpour will lash the state on Friday, with flood warnings still in place for much of Victoria's north.

The low-pressure system will be followed by more rain over the weekend for central and eastern parts of the state.

In Echuca and the smaller towns of Barmah and Lower Moira, plus Moama across the NSW border, residents are still being told to evacuate with the Murray River expected to peak from Friday. 

There are concerns the river will surpass the 1993 flood level of 95 metres.

Flooding also continues across inland NSW, as western Sydney residents are warned of rising waters in the flood-prone Hawkesbury-Nepean.

Minor flooding is expected to begin there on Friday, and residents of several suburbs including Windsor, Penrith, and North Richmond have been told to monitor the conditions.

⚠️⛈️ Severe thunderstorm warning: heavy rainfall, damaging winds & large hail likely with severe storms across inland NSW. Heavy rainfall is the main risk with storms in the eastern area around Mudgee, Merriwa, Kandos, Gulgong. Latest warning details: https://t.co/ddQQBSAUue pic.twitter.com/xH1B5rtvLq

— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) October 20, 2022

The threat is being exacerbated by more rain on Friday, with intense falls likely in areas hit by thunderstorms.

Storms are expected to move towards the coast on Friday, and are set to continue for days.

Renewed flooding is possible on NSW inland rivers beginning on Friday, the bureau warned.

-With AAP.

Serena Williams says the chances of her returning to the court are "very high," despite declaring her intention to step away from tennis before the US Open last month.

Though she deliberately avoided saying she would retire prior to the tournament, instead saying she planned to "evolve" away from the sport, many believed Williams' third-round exit at Flushing Meadows last month was the last time she would be seen playing competitive tennis.

Her defeat to Ajla Tomljanovic was met with the kind of fanfare that suggested she was calling time on an illustrious career that included 23 grand slam titles, the second most in history behind Margaret Court.

Serena Williams 💬, during a @TechCrunch conference on Wednesday: "I'm not retired." 👀 pic.twitter.com/uJX2dgG0oK

— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) October 20, 2022

But Williams implied she could yet step on the court again when speaking at an event in San Francisco on Wednesday.

In quotes collected by the San Francisco Standard, Williams said: "I am not retired.

"The chances [of me returning] are very high. You can come to my house and [see] I have a court."

-With AAP.

Getting a tic (a brief motor movement or vocalisation) is actually super common, but the use of a certain social media platform is starting to create them faster and in larger numbers in groups not usually affected.

Today we look at the impact of a platform like TikTok on vulnerable minds and how a certain genre within the platform's users leads to those who already suffer from tics to be triggered.

Feature image: Getty.